Jet Airways in talks for more narrowbodies

Jet Airways says it is in talks to purchase up to 75 narrowbody aircraft in the fiscal year ending March 2018.

An airline spokeswoman tells FlightGlobal that the discussions are for aircraft on top of its outstanding order of 75 Boeing 737 Max 8 placed at the 2015 Dubai air show.

She adds that the new aircraft order is aimed at capturing the growth in the domestic aviation market.

Deliveries of the Max aircraft will start from mid-2018, and a decision on the additional jets "will be made over the coming few months", she adds.

Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that Jet operates a fleet of 113 aircraft, comprising 77 737s, 10 777s, eight Airbus A330s and 18 ATR-72s. Its order book of 90 aircraft also includes five A330-200s and 10 787-9s.

In recent months, Jet has been adding to its 737 fleet via leases to bridge capacity until the Max aircraft are delivered.

In May, Jet inked a contract for three of the narrowbody-type from SMBC Aviation Capital. Earlier this month, it signed for three more 737s from DAE Capital.